The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced that U.S. Army Cpl. Paul Eugene Hoots, 25, of Galesburg, Illinois, killed during the Korean War, was accounted-for Nov. 15, 2024.
Hoots’ family recently received their full briefing on is identification, therefore, additional details on his identification can be shared.
In July 1950, Hoots was assigned to K Company, 3rd Battalion, 34th Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division. He went missing in action after his unit engaged the North Korean People’s Army in the vicinity of Ch’onan, South Korea, on July 7. At the time, the circumstances for his loss were not immediately recorded, and there was no evidence that he was a prisoner of war. His unit reported Hoots missing in action on July 8, 1950.
In October 1950, remains were recovered by the American Graves Registration Service Group (AGRSG) near Suwon. As those remains could not be associated with an unaccounted-for Soldier, they were designated Unknown X-16 Taejon. Unknown X-16 was interred at the temporary United Nations Military Cemetery Taejon.
In 1952, the AGRSG searched the battlefield where Hoots was lost but was unable to locate remains that could be identified as Hoots and the U.S. Army issued a presumptive finding of Dec. 31, 1953.
Starting in December 1950, all identification efforts were moved to Kokura, Japan. Unable to associate Unknown X-16 Taejon with a Korean War loss, those remains were transferred to the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, also known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu on 8 Feb 1956.
In July 2018, the DPAA proposed a plan to disinter 652 Korean War Unknowns from the Punchbowl. On June 10, 2019, DPAA disinterred Unknown X-16 Taejon as part of Phase Two of the Korean War Disinterment Project and sent the remains to the DPAA laboratory for analysis.
To identify Unknown X-16 as Hoots,’ scientists from the DPAA lab used dental and anthropological analysis, as well as chest radiograph comparison and circumstantial evidence. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA analysis.
Hoots’ name is recorded on the Courts of the Missing at the Punchbowl, along with the others who are still missing from the Korean War. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
Hoots will be buried in Galesburg, Illinois on Thursday July 24th
Hinchliff-Pearson-West, Inc is assisting the family with arrangements.
For family and funeral information, contact the Army Casualty Office at (800) 892-2490.
To see the most up-to-date statistics on DPAA recovery efforts for those unaccounted for from the Korean War, go to the Korean War Accounting page on the DPAA website at: https://dpaa-mil.sites.crmforce.mil/dpaaFamWebKorean.
For additional information on the Defense Department’s mission to account for Americans who went missing while serving their country, visit the DPAA website at www.dpaa.mil or on social media at www.facebook.com/dodpaa, https://www.linkedin.com/company/dodpaa,
https://www.instagram.com/dodpaa/, or https://x.com/dodpaa.
Hoots’ personnel profile can be viewed at https://dpaa.secure.force.com/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt000000lj49MEAQ.
Read Hoots’ initial ID announcement here: Hoots.
